scholarly journals Informal economic relations and organizations

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 749-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yochanan Altman ◽  
Claudio Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Labour Process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of informal economic relations (IER) in the day-to-day working of organizations, thereby opening a way to theorizing and informed practice. The authors will present and discuss about the manifestation of informality in “everyday” reality of Soviet and transformation economies. Informed by Cultural theory and in particular the work of Gerald Mars, the authors are taking account ontologically and methodologically of Labour process theory. Design/methodology/approach – Through presentation of ethnographic data of detailed accounts and case vignettes in production and retail in the Soviet period of the late 1970s and 1980s and from the construction sector in contemporary Russia, with a focus on the labour process, the authors inform and discuss key processes in the informal working of organizations. Findings – In the Soviet system the informal economy co-existed in symbiosis with the formal command economy, implicitly adopting a “live and let live” attitude. In addition, informal relations were essential to the working of work organizations, sustaining workers’ “negative control” and bargaining power. contemporary Russian capitalism, while embracing informal economic activities, a legacy of the Soviet period, advocates an “each to his own” approach which retains the flexibility but not the bargaining space for employees. That facilitates exploitation, particularly of the most vulnerable workers, with dire consequences for the work process. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a platform for theorizing about the role and place of IER in organizations. Of importance to managerial practice, the paper informs on those aspects of the work routine that remain hidden from view and are often excluded from academic discourse. The social implications are profound, shedding light on central issues such as recruitment, income distribution, health and safety and deregulated forms of employment. Originality/value – The paper examines economic behaviour under different economic-political regimes demonstrating continuities and changes during a fundamental social-economic reorientation of an important regional economy, through close observation at the micro and meso-level of, respectively, the workplace, organizations and industry, outlining theoretical, practical and social implications.

The informal road to markets

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 278-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basak Kus
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Regulatory Relationship ◽  
Government Regulations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
Regulatory Barriers ◽  
Turkish Case

Purpose – The informal economy has expanded across developing countries during the last decades. Focussing on the Turkish case, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role of neoliberal reforms in this development. The author argues that neoliberal reforms produced a double-edged transformation in the regulatory environment of Turkey. On the one hand, the legal rules that constrain the operation of market forces decreased giving way to more entrepreneurial activity; while on the other hand, the state's effectiveness in “policing” the market declined. As the regulatory barriers to private entrepreneurship decreased, the regulatory barriers to informality also decreased. Private sector growth and informalization emerged as the concomitant outcomes of neoliberal reforms. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines how the state's changing regulatory relationship to the private sector under neoliberal reforms fostered informal economic activities through a close study of the Turkish case. Findings – At the end of the 1980s, the Peruvian economist Hernando De Soto popularized the view that informalization resulted from government regulations imposing rigid constraints and costs on economic actors, and so would be restrained by decreasing or eliminating them. The economic developments of the past few decades challenge this view, however. The size of the informal economy has expanded in developing nations at a period when government regulations have been declining. How can we explain the increasing volume of informal economic activity in developing nations over the past few decades? And more, how can we explain that this has happened during a period when the private sector has grown, and regulatory rigidities have declined? This paper argues that the state's changing regulatory relationship to the private sector under neoliberal reforms was an important factor in the expansion of informal economic activities. Originality/value – The implications of neoliberal reforms for economic processes have been widely studied in the social scientific literature. Only a handful of studies have explored their implications for the informal economy, however. These studies singled out factors such as the decline in public employment, weakening of labor unions, or capital's enhanced ability to exploit labor in contributing to informalization of developing country economies in the neoliberal era. By discussing how the changing regulatory contours of the state-economy relationship played a role in the growth of informally operating private enterprises, this paper adds to the existing knowledge of this relationship.

scholarly journals Employment in the informal economy: implications of the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 1005-1019
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Webb ◽  
Ronald McQuaid ◽  
Sigrid Rand
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Basic Work ◽  
Narrative Literature ◽  
Work Security ◽  
Narrative Literature Review

PurposeAlthough the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic appears to disproportionately affect those in informal employment, they often receive less government support than the formally employed. This paper considers definitions of the informal economy and informal employment, explores the rationale for participating in the informal economy and reflects on some effects of the pandemic on these workers.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a narrative literature review with analysis of the selected academic and policy literature.FindingsThere are considerable short- and long-term implications of the pandemic for informal employment and the informal economy. This occurs against the background of unresolved tensions arising from informal workers' desire for more employment security and employers' striving for continued labour flexibility while transferring costs to government and workers. The COVID-19 pandemic might accelerate current trends and force new solutions to better protect basic work security while helping organisations to remain competitive. Government policies supporting work safety, income security, moves to formalisation of employment and fairness for informal employees are particularly important.Research limitations/implicationsAs statistical and qualitative evidence is currently limited, it is too early to identify the full effects of COVID-19 on employment in the informal economy.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that governments need to carefully consider explicit support for those in informal employment to create fair, resilient and ethical structures for workers, businesses, economies and wider societies.Social implicationsThe paper identifies some of the social implications of COVID-19 for the informal sector.Originality/valueThe analysis offers initial insights into the impacts of a major health, economic and social shock on informal working.

scholarly journals Economic crisis and “white informal economy” – a slippery slope

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 468-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bojan Dobovšek ◽  
Boštjan Slak
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Practices ◽  
Legal Forms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of studying the quasi-legal forms of informal economic behaviour that we know as the white informal economy. The paper also sheds light on the role of the informal economy in the financial crisis that started in 2008. Finally, the aim of the paper is also to encourage empirical research about these concepts. Design/methodology/approach The paper is theoretical and based on a literature review. Findings The paper implies that when discussing about informal economy, different sub-categories should continue to be used in order to distinguish the various forms of informal economic practices. There is a particular need for research on practices of economic activities that are legal but not always moral, yet severely damaging. For such activities, the authors propose the term/categorisation the “white informal economy”. Additionally, the authors argue that in the causal links of events that brought about the financial crisis the role of the white informal economy was significant. Practical implications The paper wishes to encourage further research on the topic of (white) informal economy that in turn would also create the scenario for proper policy development for tackling tax avoidance, tax evasion and future financial crises. Originality/value The paper adds to scholarship that takes a critical standpoint towards the financial crisis and to scholarship on the informal economy. It presents an attempt to stimulate further discussion about the connectivity of the informal economy and the financial crisis.

Harnessing the power of the job description

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 8-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Leon Rohr
Keyword(s):  
Succession Planning ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Job Description ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Hiring Process ◽  
Potential Use

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show managers can effectively utilize a job description throughout an employee's tenure. Typically, a job description is used in the hiring process. However, a job description can be utilized in recruiting and selection, compensation, evaluation, training and development, health and safety, and succession planning. Design/methodology/approach The author approached the use of a job description from a manager’s perspective. Using both existing literature and conceptual usage of a job description, the author provides a potential use of a job description to improve the human resource competitiveness of an organization. Findings If utilized throughout the life of employment, a job description is a powerful tool that can aid managers. Managers have a road map that can help them with their duties of planning, leading, organizing, controlling and staffing. With a road map, the complexities of management become easier. Research Limitations/implications The limitations involve actual data that prove the effectiveness of the job description. Most of the information provided in the article is theoretical but potentially provides practical information for practitioners. Practical implications The article provides a practical application of the use of a job description. The information provided can be utilized immediately by practitioners. Specifically, inexperienced managers can use the job description as a road map for supervising an employee through the employment relationship. Social implications Unfortunately, there are very little social implications. However, whenever organizations can improve their relationships with their employees, society will surely benefit. Originality/value The article presented involves pieces of previous works, but to date, the author could not find another example of the total use of the job description through the employment relationship. Therefore, it appears to be very original in application.

scholarly journals Post-Soviet informality: towards theory-building

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 182-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huseyn Aliyev
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Informal Practices ◽  
Proper Analysis ◽  
Post Soviet Space

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest that informal practices and institutions of post-Soviet countries differ from informality in other post-socialist regions and, therefore, proposes categorizing it as “post-Soviet informality” – a composite definition that extends beyond the concept of “informal economy” and encompasses, along with economic activities, social and political spheres. Design/methodology/approach – The arguments of the paper are based on a comprehensive analysis of secondary sources. Findings – This paper shows that, owing to the effects of antecedent regime’s legacies and the problems of post-communist transition, for the proper analysis of informality in post-Soviet countries it needs to be based on an own concept. Originality/value – This study, in contrast to the existing literature on informality in post-communist spaces, specifically focuses on the informal sphere of post-Soviet countries, suggesting that the informal institutions and practices thriving across the vast post-Soviet space not only differ from the informal spheres elsewhere in the world, but also from informality in other post-communist regions.

Economic Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic: Who are the Big Sufferers?

2020 ◽  
pp. 320-326
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Indian Economy ◽  
The World ◽  
Daily Wage ◽  
Liberalisation Policy ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

The COVID-19 pandemic identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019, has spread almost to all the countries of the world. The mitigation measures imposed by most of the nations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have badly hit the global economic activities. As per the latest estimates, the world economy is predicted to decline by 5.2 percent, and world trade is expected to drop by 13-32 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this way it has created havoc in the world economy and the Indian economy is no exception. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated the Indian GDP growth at 1.9 percent and showed the worst growth performance of India after the liberalisation policy of 1991. According to the World Bank, the Indian economy will contract by 3.2 percent in 2020-21. Daily wage labourers and other informal workers, particularly migrant labourers of economically poor states were the worst hit during the lockdown period and will continue to be adversely affected even after the lockdown was relaxed. The paper suggested multiple measures to support the Indian economic and financial support to all the families of the informal economy workers to tide over this crisis.

Situating Self-Employed Urban Women Conducting Business through Contemporary Social Media

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shruti Kalyanaraman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Women Workers ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Business Women ◽  
Employed Women

Informal economy includes varied set of economic activities, enterprises, jobs, and workers. The economy typically consists of enterprises and/or people that are not regulated or protected by the state. The concept originally applied to self-employment in small unregistered enterprises. It has been expanded to include wage employment in unprotected jobs. A home-based self-employed women worker can be involved as a fashion designer, a tiffin service provider, a home tutor, a person working with vendors, selling and reselling apparel, accessories to name a few. Informal self-employment is very large and heterogeneous as a category itself. There are different people working within in an informally self-employed category. The review tries to understand home based business women within the ambit of informal employment. The focus of research turns to technological advancement, social media and its impact on womens economic and business efforts. The review, using a feminist lens, understands academic researches on womens economic efforts. The reviews focus will largely be owners and own account (individually run enterprises) women workers of informal enterprises in urban areas which for ease of reference, I have termed as home-based self-employed urban woman.

scholarly journals Explaining the informal economy in Western Europe: beyond a rational economic actor perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Williams ◽  
Gamze Oz-Yalaman
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Economic Actor ◽  
Expected Benefits ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe dominant theorisation of the informal economy views participants as rational economic actors operating in the informal economy when the expected benefits exceed the perceived costs of being caught and punished. Recently, an alternative theory has emerged which views participants as social actors operating in the informal economy due to their lack of vertical trust (in governments) and horizontal trust (in others). The aim of this paper is to evaluate these competing theorisations.Design/methodology/approachTo do so, data are reported from special Eurobarometer surveys conducted in 2007, 2013 and 2019 in eight West European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom).FindingsUsing probit regression analysis, the finding is that increasing the expected likelihood of being caught and level of punishment had a weak significant impact on the likelihood of participating in the informal economy in 2007, and there was no significant impact in 2013 and 2019. However, greater vertical and horizontal trust is significantly associated with a lower level of participation in the informal economy in all three time periods.Practical implicationsThe outcome is a call for a policy to shift away from increasing the expected level of punishment and likelihood of being caught, and towards improving vertical and horizontal trust. How this can be achieved is explored.Originality/valueEvidence is provided in a Western European context to support a shift away from a rational economic actor to a social actor approach when explaining and tackling the informal economy.

Residents’ perception towards tourism impacts in Kashmir

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asif Hamid Charag ◽  
Asif Iqbal Fazili ◽  
Irfan Bashir
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Tourism Impacts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
City Tourism ◽  
Significant Difference

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the residents’ perception towards environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of tourism development in Kashmir. Design/methodology/approach The research instrument containing 27 items pertaining to six variables is adopted from the literature. A mix-method survey approach is used to solicit residents’ perceptions regarding environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of the current level of tourism development. A total of 326 useful responses were subjected to descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc analysis using SPSS (Version 22.0). Findings In general, the negative and positive impacts of tourism development are well perceived by the residents. The results indicate that the residents display positive perception regarding economic impacts, however, social and environmental impacts are negatively perceived. Furthermore, barring level of education, the study found no significant difference in the residents’ perception towards tourism impacts (environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality of life and cost of living). Research limitations/implications The paper identifies perceived impacts and issues of tourism development thereby, proposing possible mitigating measures. Also, the study identifies the need to develop a comprehensive policy framework addressing the issues related to the resident’s negative feelings towards tourism impacts. Further, the study envisages the need for engaging residents in developing a progressive and participatory planning process for future tourism activities in the area. Social implications The study offers critical social implications for city tourism development. It suggests a community-based approach should be adopted to sensitize residents about the positive benefits of tourism. Originality/value The study is a novel attempt concerning residents’ residents perceptual differences towards tourism impacts. Furthermore, this study investigated socio-cultural impacts of tourism under two separate categories for better understanding. in doing so, this study provides finer understanding of perception of residents towards tourism impacts in Indian context. The findings of the study will prove critical for different stakeholders in developing future tourism framework and policies in the region.

Would integrating women's professional care of pelvic organ prolapse improve the symptoms and quality of life: an integrative literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-133
Author(s):  
Nicola Davies ◽  
Teresa Burdett
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Pelvic Organ Prolapse ◽  
Conservative Treatment ◽  
Conservative Management ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Pelvic Organ ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeIntegrated healthcare is a central tenant of the NHS Long Term Plan (NHS, 2019). NICE in 2019 published guidelines; advising the integration of multidisciplinary professionals which may lead to an improvement in conservative treatment methods of pelvic organ prolapse. Therefore, current literature on the conservative treatments for pelvic organ prolapse needs to be reviewed to ascertain if an integrated approach would improve the symptoms and quality of life for women.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature between 2013 and 2018 was implemented. Papers included were written in English, peer-reviewed and consisted of treatments of pelvic organ prolapse in women. Papers containing surgical interventions, postpartum participants, reviews, evaluations, guidelines, follow-up studies, focusing on cost effectiveness, sexual function were excluded.FindingsSeven studies in total were included, and two overarching themes were identified: quality of life after treatment and the effect of conservative treatment on pelvic organ prolapse symptoms. The literature suggested that integrating care had a more positive outcome on pelvic organ symptoms and quality of life.Research limitations/implicationsTo develop a robust enhanced model of care for conservative treatment of pelvic organ prolapse through more mixed method or qualitative research, that incorporates integrative treatment methods with collaboration from multidisciplinary professionals.Practical implicationsThe practical implications of integrating the conservative management of pelvic organ prolapse is the communication between the multidisciplinary team must be exceptional to ensure everyone understands and agrees the treatment that is being provided to patient. Also, effective teamwork is important to ensure the patient receives the best care with input from the correct disciplines. The multi-professional team will need to have regular meetings to discuss and implement care plans for patients that might prove difficult to schedule due to differing commitments and priorities. This must be overcome to insure a successful and effective integrated approach to pelvic organ prolapse is delivered.Social implicationsThe social implications of integrating the professional approach to women's care of pelvic organ prolapse involves reducing the severity of the symptoms therefore, increasing the quality of life. This may result in the reduction of surgical intervention due to the patient being satisfied with the conservative management. Through integrating the management of the prolapse the patient will receive an accessible individualised care plan pathway that focuses on treating or reducing the impact of the symptoms that are bothersome to the patient whilst managing patient expectations. Patients will also, be reassured by the number of multi-disciplinary professionals involved in their care.Originality/valueGlobal integration of conservative treatments and multidisciplinary-professionals specialising in pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic floor dysfunction is needed.

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